Hail Mary pass

Roger Staubach, the thrower of the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson during a December 28, 1975 NFL playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings.

A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, made in desperation with only a small chance of success. In the Hail Mary pass all receivers run straight toward the endzone and the Quarterback will make a long pass that is often "up for grabs." The term became widespread after a December 28, 1975 NFL playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings, when Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach (a Roman Catholic) said about his game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson, "I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary."[1] Previous to this play, a last-second desperation pass had been called several names, most notably the "Alley-Oop."

The expression goes back at least to the 1930s, being used publicly in that decade by two former members of Notre Dame's Four Horsemen, Elmer Layden and Jim Crowley. Originally meaning any sort of desperation play, a "Hail Mary" gradually came to denote a long, low-probability pass attempted at the end of a half when a team is too far from the end zone to execute a more conventional play, implying that it would take divine intervention for the play to succeed. For more than forty years, use of the term was largely confined to Notre Dame and other Catholic universities.[2]

Origins

Crowley often told the story of an October 28, 1922, game between Notre Dame and Georgia Tech in which the Fighting Irish players said Hail Mary prayers together before scoring each of the touchdowns, winning the game 13-3. According to Crowley, it was one of the team’s linemen, Noble Kizer (a Presbyterian), who suggested praying before the first touchdown, which occurred on a fourth and goal play at the Tech 6-yard line during the second quarter. Quarterback Harry Stuhldreher, another of the Horsemen, threw a quick pass over the middle to Paul Castner for the score. The ritual was repeated before a third and goal play, again at Tech’s six, in the fourth quarter. This time Stuhldreher ran for a touchdown, which sealed the win for Notre Dame. After the game, Kizer exclaimed to Crowley, “Say, that Hail Mary is the best play we’ve got.” Crowley related this story many times in public speeches beginning in the 1930s.[2]

On November 2, 1935, with 32 seconds left in the so-called "Game of the Century" between Ohio State and Notre Dame, Irish halfback Bill Shakespeare found receiver Wayne Millner for a 19-yard, game-winning touchdown. Notre Dame head coach Elmer Layden (who had played in the 1922 Georgia Tech game) afterwards called it a “Hail Mary” play.[2]

An early appearance of the term was in an Associated Press story about the upcoming 1941 Orange Bowl between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Georgetown Hoyas. The piece appeared in several newspapers including the December 31, 1940 Daytona Beach Morning Journal under the headline, "Orange Bowl: [Georgetown] Hoyas Put Faith in 'Hail Mary' Pass"). As the article explained, "A ‘hail Mary’ pass, in the talk of the Washington eleven, is one that is thrown with a prayer because the odds against completion are big."

During an NBC broadcast in 1963, Staubach, then a Navy quarterback, described a pass play during his team’s victory over Michigan that year as a “Hail Mary play.” He scrambled to escape a pass rush, nearly getting sacked 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage before completing a desperation pass for a one-yard gain.[2]

Staubach to Pearson, 1975

The Hail Mary
Dallas Cowboys
(10–4)		 Minnesota Vikings
(12–2)
17 14
Head coach:
Tom Landry		 Head coach:
Bud Grant
1234 Total
DAL 00710 17
MIN 0707 14
Date December 28, 1975
Stadium Metropolitan Stadium
Location Bloomington, Minnesota
Referee Chuck Heberling
Network CBS
Announcers Gary Bender and Johnny Unitas

The Cowboys started the game-winning drive with the ball on their own 15-yard line, trailing 14–10 with 1:50 left in the game. After a spectacular catch by Pearson on fourth and 17 brought the Cowboys to midfield with just 37 seconds left, Staubach then tried to hit running back Preston Pearson with a short pass over the middle, but the ball fell incomplete. Then, on second down with 32 seconds remaining, Staubach again lined up in the shotgun formation, took the snap, and pump-faked left toward Golden Richards in an effort to confuse future Hall of Fame free safety Paul Krause.[3] Drew Pearson, who had run about 15 yards downfield, took two steps to his left attempting to misdirect All-Pro cornerback Nate Wright, then cut back to his right and ran hard down the right sideline ahead of Wright.[4]

Staubach then turned to his right and unloaded a pass to Pearson, but the pass was underthrown due to pressure from the Vikings defense and the hard pump fake.[4] Pearson backed up slightly as the ball reached his area; there was contact between Wright and Pearson, then Wright fell down, allowing Pearson to make the catch by trapping the ball with his right elbow against his right hip at the 5-yard line with his back to the end zone.[4] He then turned and scored standing up with 24 seconds left. Pearson said later that he thought he had dropped the ball only to find it pinned against his hip and then "I just waltzed right into the end zone." With the extra point, Dallas went up by a field goal, 17–14, which was the final score.[5] In response to Wright's claim that he was pushed, Pearson said, "I used that swim move that receivers use to get inside position on defensive backs. There was contact with Nate Wright, but there was no deliberate push."

Reaction

Metropolitan Stadium went silent, then debris began to rain down on the field.[6] Krause and Wright complained to field judge Armen Terzian that a pass interference penalty on Pearson should have been called. An orange, thrown by a spectator in the stands, whizzed by Pearson at the goal line.[7] The orange is visible on NFL Films footage of the play and was initially confused by some as a penalty flag and was also misinterpreted by some players on the Vikings defense as a penalty.[5] More debris was thrown from the stands by angry Vikings fans, enraged that no penalty was called on Dallas.[5][6]

Defensive tackle Alan Page argued vigorously with officials and was assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the ensuing kickoff. On Minnesota's next possession with 14 seconds left to play, on second down at their own 10-yard line, a full Jack Daniel's whiskey bottle was thrown by a spectator.[6] The bottle struck field judge Terzian in the head, creating a large forehead gash and rendering him unconscious.[5][7] Cowboys strong safety Charlie Waters, who was in the Dallas huddle standing very close to Terzian, recounted that he thought the official had been shot.[6] Terzian had to wear a compression bandage as he walked off the field; the wound caused a concussion and required 11 stitches. Terzian was replaced by substitute official Charley Musser for the final two plays.[5]

Staubach, who had been hit immediately after throwing the ball, was still lying on the ground and didn't see Pearson catch the ball. When he was asked about the play later in the locker room, he said, "You mean [Pearson] caught the ball and ran in for the touchdown? It was just a Hail Mary pass; a very, very lucky play." Though he joked with reporters that he prayed as he threw the ball, Staubach never actually did so.[3]

Shortly after the game concluded, Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton was informed that his father, Rev. Dallas Tarkenton, had died of a heart attack during the third quarter while watching the game on television at his Savannah, Georgia, home. An erroneous anecdote suggested that the elder Tarkenton had died upon seeing the Hail Mary pass, however that play occurred in the 4th quarter.[8]

Examples

Arguably the most memorable and replayed Hail Mary pass came on November 23, 1984 in a game now known as "Hail Flutie."[9] Boston College was losing to Miami (FL) with 6 seconds left on the clock when their quarterback Doug Flutie threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Gerard Phelan, succeeding primarily because Miami's secondary stood on the goal line to keep the receivers in front of them without covering a post route behind them. Miami's defense was based on the assumption that Flutie couldn't throw the ball as far as the end zone, but Flutie hit Phelan in stride against a flatfooted defense a yard deep in the end zone.[10] To commemorate the play, a statue of Flutie in his Hail Mary passing pose was unveiled outside Alumni Stadium at Boston College on November 7, 2008.[11]

Other noteworthy examples include:

In other fields

The term "Hail Mary pass" has become generalized to refer to any last-ditch effort with little chance of success.

In basketball, a "Hail Mary shot" or "Hail Mary throw" is a shot thrown from a place far away from the basket (e.g. behind the half court line.)[18]

There are similar usages in other fields, such as a "Hail Mary shot" in photography where the photographer holds the view finder of an SLR camera far from his eye (so unable to compose the picture), usually high above his head, and takes a shot. This is often used in crowded situations.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "History Release » Chat transcript with Roger Staubach". Profootballhof.com. 2010-02-07. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Ashwill, Gary (2010-10-29). "Hail Mary". Agate Type. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
  3. 1 2 "In their own words". CowboysPlus.com. The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Horn, Barry (January 17, 2010). "Staubach, Pearson discuss genesis of 'Hail Mary' pass". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Famous Drew Pearson "Hail Mary" Reception". Drew Pearson Official Website News., Retrieved 2013-5-30.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Harris, Cliff; Waters, Charlie (September 5, 2003). Tales from the Dallas Cowboys. Sports Publishing, Inc. pp. 218–219. ISBN 978-1582613857.
  7. 1 2 "Official hurt, but recovers". CowboysPlus.com. The Dallas Morning News. December 29, 1975. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  8. ↑ Nichols, Bill (January 14, 2010). "Cowboys-Vikings playoff history: Seems like old times". dallasnews.com. The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  9. ↑ Brown, Scott (September 23, 2008). "The 10 Best College Football Hail Mary passes of the past 30 years". Scott Brown's Sportsbytes. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  10. ↑ 17 november 2006 (2006-11-17). "Flutie's Miracle in Miami". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  11. ↑ http://newspapers.bc.edu/cgi-bin/bostonsh?a=d&d=bcheights20081110.2.6#
  12. ↑ "It Was a Super Holiday Bowl". Los Angeles Times. January 13, 1986. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  13. ↑ Schwartz, Larry (November 19, 2003). "Kordell's Hail Mary a "Miracle in Michigan"". ESPN. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  14. ↑ Kleinpeter, Jim (November 9, 2012). "Remembering LSU's Bluegrass Miracle on the 10th anniversary". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  15. ↑ Staples, Andy (October 23, 2011). "Miracle 'Rocket' boosts Spartans to improbable victory over Badgers". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  16. ↑ Prather, Carl (November 16, 2013). "The Prayer at Jordan-Hare! Auburn wins 43–38!". WAFF. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  17. ↑ Floyd, Brian (2015-12-04). "This is how the Lions handed the Packers a game-winning Hail Mary". SB Nation. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  18. ↑ 1 January 2013 (2013-01-01). "Today Tonight: Fan's dispute with the NBL". Youtube.com. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  19. ↑ "Hail Mary – and Other Divine Photo Tricks". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2010-03-12.

External links

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